Follow us

Search KidSpot

Germ busting your toddler

Before we break out the germ-busting advice, a quick moment to talk about the necessity of some germs. The “Hygiene Hypothesis” loosely refers to a body of research that argues our kids need some germs in their lives to help them build a stronger immune system – which is linked later in life to preventing illnesses including allergies and asthma. However, it is important we don’t swing the pendulum in the other direction; the research refers to over-disinfecting, not keeping a clean house or helping toddlers maintain good personal hygiene.

Germ basics for kids

Hand washing is key

Straight after playing with pets, eating food, going to the toilet, playing in sand or with shared toys and books (libraries and play groups for example) are all times you should whip out the hand sanitiser or soap and water.

Keep kids' areas of the house clean

If your kids like to play on a tiled living room floor, then daily sweeping and regularly mopping is important; carpeted areas should be vacuumed. Toys should have a cleaning roster (add some disinfectant to the toys in a tub, fill with boiling hot water and then drain and dry after half an hour.) Cloth toys should be washed on a hot cycle regularly, and if your child has been ill, it’s a good idea to wash those along with sheets and doonas. High chairs are another hotspot for cleaning – they should be wiped down after every meal with an extra once-a-week disinfection.

Just good manners

Teach your children to cover their mouth and nose if they sneeze or cough, you can talk to them about keeping their germs away from others. They should be washing their hands after blowing their nose or coughing into their hand.

Reduce the ick factor

Toddlers will get into anything they can – gross or disgusting objects are no deterrent. Make sure you keep items such as nappy buckets out of reach, shut the door to the bathrooms or toilets so they don’t spend time in there (you'll be able to avoid the “who is going to pull the roll of loo paper out of the bowl” argument), and if it's possible, put the bin in an inaccessible spot.

At the end of the day, you don’t need to go overboard with constant disinfecting or hand sanitising. As always it comes back to common sense – keep it clean and sanitary, but it shouldn’t be taking over your lives!